OAL gauge to the lands

[dirtman]

howdy all,

I need a good gauge to check OAL to the lands on a few long guns 308,223, 7mm. Would very much appreciate hearing what is GOOD and what is crap.
I Sure do love this site.

 

[Jim Watson]

People will no doubt tell you how to do it with an empty case by squeezing the neck to just hold a bullet enough to get it in the chamber and set the bullet back against the rifling.

But if you want a convenient tool for the process, the Stoney Point gauge, now under Hornady, is good. Sinclair makes one of the same type a little slicker, and another considerably fancier. I get by with the Stoney Point for .223 and .308.

 

[steve4102]

Get this.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=231904

And This
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=479963

And This
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=290405

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=459683

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=482631

And This
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=479835

There, you are all set to measure COL, and Headspace.

 

[USSR]

Like Jim, I use the Stoney Point/Hornady O.A.L. Gauge.

Don

 

[dirtman]

thanks for the info, very much appreciate your help. Been trying last couple hours to order from midway by phone.... but it appears they will not ship retail outside of the U.S.of A. darn those prices are very good.

 

[steve4102]

If Midway won't ship it try here.

http://www.grafs.com/\

http://www.lockstock.com/

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/index.asp

http://www.natchezss.com/index.cfm?CFID=732233&CFTOKEN=14999237

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20849&id=0044517

 

[dirtman]

Thanks steve4 order in at cabelas... got all that and more.... Midway will not ship to canada... spent several hours trying to have them ship it but to no avail.... thanks again for all your help....

 

[W.E.G.]

+1 for the Stoney Point tool

 

[30Cal]

I don't use one. I chamber a round with my thumb. If it falls out on it's own the bullet is not contacting the rifling.

 

[dagger dog]

Frankford arsenal makes a tool that attaches to your cleaning rod you close the bolt(action) run the rod down to touch the bolt face install one end, then open the action place the bullet you want to use in the chamber and hold it into the lands with a pencil or dowel then run the rod into the barrel to touch the bullet and attach the other end of the tool to the rod pull it out and measure the distance between and you got the jamb data, deduct 0.06-0.10". and your ready to fly!
Caught it on sale at midwayusa.com for 12.95$ I think they are 14.95$ regular I got the Stoney Point(now Hornady) OAL they cost more and the Frankford is eaiser to use.

You can do the same thing with a wooden dowel rod and a razor blade run it down the bbl. with the bolt closed make a mark with the razor ,( it's thin enough to give the accuracy a pencil or felt tip marker is to thick to get right down to the muzzle crown), then hold the bullet you want to use against the lands , run the rod down again, make the second mark with the razor blade, then use you caliper to measure the distance. I would use a dowel close to the bore size and don't press to hard or you'll flex the dowell and get a bogus reading. It works and it's cheap!

 

[broham]

Maybe I don't fully understand the stoney point gauge but wouldn't using the bolt closing on a dummy round with a bullet be more of an accurate measurement than using the gauge.

 

[dagger dog]

The bullet some times pulls out of the case when you open the action. You have to color the bullet or smoke it over a candle so you can see where it makes contact with the rifling and case.Also this method is not total repeatable and you have to average the closest 3 measurements.

The Stoney point gauge requires you to buy or manufacture a case for each specific caliber.

The dowel rod method is damn near fool proof, the Frankford Arsenal tool is lower cost and is reliable,and repeatable.

 

[mrawesome22-250]

Take an empty case. Cut a vertical slit in the neck, barely into the shoulder, with a hacksaw. Barely seat the bullet you want to use in this case with your hands. Chamber this round in your rifle. Eject it with your hand covering the ejection port. Take it out and measure it from base to tip with your calipers. This will give you MAX OAL (over all length) for that bullet. In other words, this bullet is touching the rifling. Now you can experiment with different seating depths. I've found that my rifle usually gives best accuracy .030" away from the rifling. But you'll just have to experiment as to what shoots the best out of your gun. This method works very well and you don't have to waste money on a Stoney Point gauge.